Sacred Duty
by Center of the Galaxy
Summary: Tamina contemplates her fate and comes to some startling realizations about her life and Dastan as she is about to sacrifice her life in order to destroy the dagger. Tamina/Dastan


_**Author's Note: **__I saw the movie on opening night and I loved it! I couldn't resist writing something about it! Anyways, I have altered some of the dialogue/events since I can't remember them exactly, but for the most part, it's all canon. Major spoilers for the movie so don't say I didn't warn you! Enjoy! _

She had been born a princess with a sacred duty.

At least, that had always been what she had been taught. Protect the dagger at all costs—even if it means giving your life. That was the code that had been drilled into her head since birth. The city of Alamut was, after all, the hiding place of a sacred sandglass containing the sands of time. These sands had the power to rewrite history and that made its protection of utmost importance because if anything were to pierce it and cause time to go backwards, the world would end. Luckily, the dagger—handed down to the first princess of Alamut by the gods themselves—was the only thing that could pierce the glass. Thus, it fell to the royal daughters to protect the dagger at all times.

Her mother, Queen Farah, had been the keeper of the dagger before her. A woman with wisdom beyond her years, the Queen had been loved by all. She had been the one who had taught Tamina everything she needed to know in order to become the dagger's guardian. She had drilled everything into her daughter's head—the safe way to reach the hourglass, how to reach the sacred temple, and how to destroy the dagger. Tamina had learned eagerly and had accepted her duty with a sense of sadness but understanding. It was her life or all of humanity—the choice wasn't that hard to make.

When Tamina had reached the age of 16, her father came before her with plans of marriage. King Ormazd was also beloved by the people for being fair and just, but Tamina told him that she did not wish to get married. Her father had sent her an angry look, but had dropped the subject swearing to come back to it later.

It was night that tragedy struck.

At a banquet that night, the King and Queen died of poison. It had later been linked to some angry Persian citizens who wished to have Alamut come under Persia's control. Tamina had become the next guardian that day and she had changed. She became cold and calculated and harbored ill feelings for all Persians. Still, she knew her place and ran the kingdom with all efficiency. No one dared questioned the fact that she ruled alone, but the citizens secretly hoped that one day she would take a husband.

Time passed.

Tamina grew and matured. She took her sacred duty seriously and only entrusted the secret of Alamut to those who she completely trusted. Everything had been going well until Alamut had been invaded—by Persians no less. The dagger had been stolen, taken by some Prince named Dastan. Now, she was with him before the sacred temple and the two were about to destroy the dagger. Funny, she thought, how such a hated enemy could become such a great ally.

It was true.

Prince Dastan—adopted by the King of Persia—had been framed for his father's murder by his uncle and now was now on a quest that morphed from clearing his name to preventing his evil uncle from releasing the sands and destroying the world. During the adventure they had had together, Tamina had been growing closer to the young man. He was kind—albeit a little cocky and arrogant—and he had a good heart. He had gone out of his way to help Tamina and that's what made this part of her journey so sad.

Her life was over now.

He didn't know it yet, but the gods—in order to destroy the dagger—had to take back the life they had spared. The life that they had spared had been a Princess of Alamut's life which meant that Tamina had to die in order to have the dagger destroyed.

She let her eyes gaze at Dastan again.

If things had been different perhaps they could have grown to love each other. Perhaps they could've ruled Alamut together . . . but it was best not to think of such things. Her destiny was to destroy the dagger and in order to do that, she had to die. She felt sadness wash over her.

"Tamina?" Dastan questioned. "What is it?"

The Princess forced herself to remain composed.

"Let's go," She ordered. "We have to destroy the dagger."

He nodded and was about to help her up one of the rocky ledges when a knife flew to the left side of her. They both exchanged a look that explained everything—the Hassassins were back. The Hassassins were skilled warriors that had been banished from Persia by Dastan's father. They had now been hired by his uncle to kill them.

Without waiting for a signal, Tamina raced for the temple. This was it. Her destiny was about to be fulfilled.

The temple was empty and she approached the block which would absorb the dagger for the price of her life. She spun around when she heard footsteps behind her and saw Dastan entering. Tamina didn't want him to see this.

"What are you doing?" He asked, now standing by her side.

"This stone will destroy the dagger and make it become merely part of the cliff side," She explained as she held the dagger out. Her hands were shaking and she was sure Dastan could see that. Still, she had to do this. "There is a price though."

"Price?" He echoed calmly. "What do you mean?"

"In order to take back their gift, the gods must take back the life that they spared." His eyes lit up with understanding.

"The Princess' life," He muttered. "Then, that would mean that your life would be . . ." His voice trailed off as he put all the pieces together.

"My life would be forfeit," She clarified. "But everyone else would be safe." She flipped the dagger in her hand, reading the sacred symbols that covered it. In a few minutes, she'd be dead. Her destiny was finally being fulfilled.

"Let me do it," He demanded. "I can—"

"You can't," She simply replied. "Only a princess can." She felt tears spring to her eyes as she took another step forward. "I'm ready." She was trying to convince herself that but her heart would not listen. It kept screaming for her to live and be with Dastan. She was starting to believe that maybe if she lived they could—no. She knew that was just her weak heart telling her lies. She neared the stone.

Dastan blocked her and met her gaze. His eyes were full of worry, pain, and something Tamina hadn't seen since her parents were alive—love. He loved her and that was why he was trying to stop her from doing this. Softly, he said:

"I'm not."

Tamina's heart pounded as Dastan and she leaned in. This was her moment to fulfill her destiny. The dagger slowly moved towards the stone as the Prince and the Princess came closer and closer to kissing.

Her destiny was at hand.

And then, by fate or divine intervention, they were attacked and the dagger was stolen. The Princess had been spared, but she wondered if that was a good thing. There was no doubt that Dastan's uncle had the dagger by now and that meant the end of the world was close at hand.

And yet, she couldn't help but feel relieved. She was alive which meant that she could stand by Dastan's side for a little bit longer. She was sure that her feelings for the Prince were interfering with her mission, but she didn't really care. Tamina was finally starting to her realize that her life could be more than her sacred duty.

"Princess?" Dastan's thoughts pulled her out of her silent reverie. "We need to get going." Tamina rose and felt her heart pound a little faster.

"Alright," She answered. He held out his hand to help her onto his horse and she accepted. "Let's go." He hoisted upon the horse and she noticed that his hand held onto hers longer than necessary.

As they sprinted off to stop the end of the world, Tamina wondered what would become of her. After this was done, would she continue her sacred duty or allow herself to be free of it? There were so many choices and too many questions running around in her head. She wrapped her arms around Dastan and allowed herself to lay her head on his back. She felt one of his hands move from the reigns to her hand. He squeezed it gently and she smiled.

Perhaps there was no need to find an answer now. Perhaps all she needed was just to take everything one step at a time and trust that the gods would reveal her destiny. As they rode away from the temple, Tamina wondered if she was riding away from her sacred duty. Was she fleeing it? Was she betraying everything that her mother had taught her?

No, she told herself.

She was beginning to realize that Dastan's words were holding true. She did make her own destiny.

And her destiny, she hoped, was going to join with Dastan's.

She just hoped they both would survive to find out if that was true.

_**Author's Note: **__Reviews would be greatly appreciated! _


End file.
